
Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes is expected in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, following an invitation from his Argentine peer Cristina Fernandez, which will be his first overseas bilateral trip since taking office 15 August.

IMF Managing Director ‘Madame (Christine) Lagarde’ had words of support for Argentina’s position in the dispute with ‘vulture’ (hedge) funds during an informal encounter with Argentine officials on the sidelines of the recent G20 summit in Russia.

With faces covered, flags and sticks the Argentine fundamentalist group Quebracho staged a protest in front of Buenos Aires Colon Opera House where the opening ceremony of the International Olympic Committee took place on Friday evening and which includes among its members Princess Anne.

Spain could vote jointly with Argentina resolutions on Gibraltar and the Malvinas Islands in international forums, although with some reserves, admitted Spanish Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo during his visit to Uruguay.

Amid high social and political expectations over the Argentine Supreme Court’s ruling to determine whether the controversial Broadcast Media Law is constitutional or not, a top judge said the decision is not expected to come before October’s mid term legislative elections.

Uruguay’ President Jose Mujica said the decision authorizing a possible expansion, or not, of the UPM/Botnia pulp mill is closely linked to Argentina and the construction of a third plant along an inside Uruguayan river and not a shared one as is the case now.

President Cristina Fernández spoke out against the US refusal to discuss Argentina’s dispute with the so-called ‘vulture funds’, (and its inclusion in the final declaration) during the G-20 meeting in Moscow, Russia.

With a busy agenda prior to her G20 Summit address, Argentine President Cristina Fernández renewed her criticism of so called world powers’ protectionism and warned about a “crisis of the multilateral system” both in the economic and political arenas.

Iran's trade with Argentina grew last year while trade with Brazil declined, according to an analysis by online business publication Latinvex based on data from the IMF. Iran's total trade with Latin America grew by 0.9% to 4 billion dollars in 2012. Brazil and Argentina still dominate Iran's trade with Latin America, accounting for 93% of the region's total trade with the Persian country.

The bilateral conflict between Argentina and Uruguay over the UPM/Botnia pulp mill, on the Uruguayan side of the Uruguay River is once again leading to tension between the two neighbours amid reports that the plant’s Finnish owners plan to increase production from 1.1 to 1.3 million tons of cellulose paste per year.